Spanish government official compares Catalan referendum to rape in British TV interview

THE Secretary for State for Global Spain has backtracked from comments likening the 2017 Catalan independence referendum to rape made in an interview with British media.

Irene Lozano told Sky News rape and the vote were comparable because of a lack of permission in both cases.

“Sex is not forbidden and voting is not prohibited, but you can’t do it forcefully. You have to have permission to do it, otherwise its rape,” Lozano said.

NEW: A Spanish official has compared voting in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum to rape. @lozanoirene told @DominicWaghorn “Sex is not forbidden, like voting is not forbidden but you can’t do it forcefully. You have to have the permission to do it, otherwise it’s rape” pic.twitter.com/WzzK1BnnxB

Lozano later said she did not choose the best comparison when talking about the vote.

“I tried to explain the difference between doing things with or without the consent of those affected. The referendum was held with the agreement of half of Cataluña and has left it divided,” Lozano said on Twitter.

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